Cosol

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

after all the rave reviews for cosol in st lucia, i have e-mailed him to make reservations for our party of 12 and he promptly e-mailed me back with his price,time and pick-up destination requiring no type of deposit. can anyone tell me if they have ever had a problem with them being a no show, late, or requiring a deposit etc....? i don't want to assume his e-mail is my confirmation. oh and are the vans newer,clean and air conditioned ? i know his web site say there air conditioned but one never knows. thanks for all you input. this web site has been such a hugh help. love it !!!!

We went with Cosol on Nov. 30, 2005. The bus was clean, newer compared to others and definitly air conditioned. His email is your confirmation (if it sounds sketchy it's because he is teaching his 9 yr old son the family business and gets him to reply to the emails). He will promptly be waiting for you outside, and yes there was no deposit. We paid him at the end of the tour!

There were 6 of us on the tour (supposed to be 8), but the other 2 were from another ship and the boat had arrived late. He decided to start our tour and have his brother pick up the other couple. The two of them talked of the cell phone quite a bit and the other couple decided just to do their tour with his brother instead of meeting up with Cosol and us.

The tour was fanastic! It was the highlight of my cruise. Cosol is a very personable man and will do anything to make you and your family happy! As stated in our messages, he does love apples and can't get them on the island. I figured he would be "appled" out, but nope.. the more the better. You will absolutely be happy with your tour with Cosol, I can't recommend him enough!

Enjoy!

Amy

I agree with Amy.

Cosol was a great tour. We did bring him Apples and oranges. He traded along the way with his friends and some on the venders we stopped at. There where 6 of us to start and then we picked up another couple on board the ship who e-mailed Cosol from the ship and he arranged for his brother Yellow Bird to take them and go snorkling after the tour at a resort.

All along the way everyone knows COSOL. We stopped for fresh bananas, fresh bread right out of the oven too hot to touch, fresh fish cakes at the water fall, (bring your swim suit) cookies, drinks and more. He would call ahead to all his stops and tel them when to have things ready.

The roads are very curvey so you could get a little motion sickness. Be prepared.

His van is newer then most (maybe 2005) fully air conditioned and yes he does not require a deposit.

His son Christopher is a professional at returning e-mails. You never talk to COSOL on the e-mail it's always Christopher.

As far as you can go back in the threads I have not found a compliant about him after someone has had a tour. He has 2 vans so no problem.

I do not think he would leave you as a "no show" he just does not come accross as that type of person.

Ed

We are so looking forward to our day in St. Lucia with Cosol or one of his associates. I have seen others port about taking him apples - my understanding is that you can't bring food off of the ship. Did you have to sneak them off or is the port authority in St. Lucia more lax? I'd love to take him some if its OK.

We are so looking forward to our day in St. Lucia with Cosol or one of his associates. I have seen others port about taking him apples - my understanding is that you can't bring food off of the ship. Did you have to sneak them off or is the port authority in St. Lucia more lax? I'd love to take him some if its OK.

There are no port authority at the ship. You can grab them at the windjammer on the way out. We always take a drink and something to eat when we leave the ship at any time.

Ed

I agree with Ed :D

There is no one there to stop you from taking things off the ship. Each day when we were in Port, after breakfast, we would grab a things and put thing in our backpack to take with us for the day. Sometimes tours don't really include "lunch" so it's nice to have a little snack. We found taking a couple boxes of cereal (the little ones) were good.. and on RCCL - Serenade of the Sea, we called up Room Service and had them deliver bags of chips to our room (no charge) and we'd take those with us too.. LOL..

Amy

We did the tour with Cosol on our March Constellation cruise. He was great. We got so much information and got a glimpse of life on St. Lucia through his personal experience. His personalized style is what makes his tours so special........and the local food he provides (included in the price) is wonderful. His tour price is a bargain, the van is clean and he does not overbook. You'll be very satisfied to take Cosol's tour and see beautiful St. Lucia with him.

Beth

Will be touring with Cosol in 20 days and getting very excited after reading all the great 'word of mouth' posts on this board. I have one question regarding the amount of beach time and the location. I would love to get some snorkeling time in on a beach in Soufriere. Can you tell me if this is something I can expect/should request?

Thanks,

Kathy

This was the best land tour we have ever been on! COSOL will make sure your day is filled with exciting things to see and do. He will take you to any beach or snorkle area you want to go to. We even requested an out of the way place with horrible roads and he took us there without question. You are very lucky to get on this tour and it will be the highlight of your trip!

Be sure to take him some apples from the ship. He loves them and will be very excited to get them since they have to import them and they are very expensive on the island. This is a very poor but stable island. Take some extra cash to spend on jewelry. COSOL will take you to the best places to buy them. I purchased some beautiful necklaces for $5 and a whole set for $10 each. These people are very appreciative of you stopping to purchase their wares.

PS....Can I fit in your suitcase!?

My 10 year old daughter and I toured with Cosol earlier this month (April 2006). We had a great time. Cosol is consistent as we did all of the things others have reported including the samples of island food delights. Cosol knows how to take care of the people in his tours. He gives good tips for shopping and takes you to all the best places. Cosol's brother "Yellow Bird." is also very kind. All of his vans stick together on tours so even if you are not riding in Cosol's van, he will be a major part of your tour.

We had a great time with Cosol. He was at the security booth waiting for us (once we figured out where the security booth was, we were golden). We had a 7 hour tour of the island seeing everything that was described and the one stop that was supposed to be the difference between his tour and Herod's which is the beach located between the two pitons. We loved this stop the beach was beautiful and the snorkeling was great (we are a family of 5 kids -10 yr old twins and 12yr old son). St Lucia was their favorite stop because of the wonderful tour that we had with Cosol.

Can you tell me what all was included in the tour? What are all of the places that you visited? What time did you start your tour? We are in port at 7AM and ship leaves at 5:30. Will we have some time to shop before having to get back on the ship? Also, was the beach that he took you to Jalouise beach?

Can you tell me what all was included in the tour? What are all of the places that you visited? What time did you start your tour? We are in port at 7AM and ship leaves at 5:30. Will we have some time to shop before having to get back on the ship? Also, was the beach that he took you to Jalouise beach?

We saw everything he lists on his website. The only thing left out was the warm mineral spring and thats because we wanted to snorkel and didn't have time to do both. He did take us to Jalouise which has a marine reserve and great snorkeling. He prefers Anse Chastenette (says its the best on the island) but there was construction on the road to there so he asked our opinion on Jalouise since he had never used it before. He stopped at different places to purchase local foods for us to try all day long and I felt as stuffed as if I had eaten on the ship. He also had a cooler stocked with bottled water, soft drinks, local beer, and homemade rum punch. We had a great day on his tour. Our driver was his brother Yellowbird so we had the best of both worlds with getting to know both of them. They run a great tour business and all 8 of our party highly recommend them!

When we had Cosol this past March - all our friends got was an E-mail - with the time and date of pick up. when we arrived Cosol's Brother Yellow bird was waiting with sign in hand at the gate. We were early - good thing- we waited for 2 more people that ended up as a no show - I would say find them as soon as you dock. It's a great tour NOT to be missed - they don't ask for the money - you give it to them at the end - have fun!:)